At this year’s 56th London Film Festival Bollywood, Indian cinema and Asian cross over films have been prominently featured in the 12 day film extravaganza.
The UK’s biggest and most prestigious film event will open on Thursday 10th October and will be showcasing more than 225 films from across the world, including 8 from India.
Check out the films that Desi-Box recommends you catch at this year’s London Film Festival.
- Sachin Kundalkar ‘s Aiyyaa
Bollywood beauty Rani Mukerji stars in this eccentric quirky musical love story with the backdrop of a Marathi-Tamil cultural clash alongside Prithviraj Sukumaran. The film revolves around a vivacious girl who falls in love with a man after falling for his scent.
- Prakash Jha ‘s Chakravyuh
Bollywood superstars Arjun Rampal and Abhay Deol star alongside Manoj Bajpai and Esha Gupta in this controversial political thriller. The story revolves around two best friends, one a cop and another who becomes an antihero Naxalite revolutionary, and as tables turn they become sworn enemies. The film will have its red carpet world premiere at the Thrill Gala on Thursday 11th October in Leicester Square with the stars of the film attending.
- Sally El Hosaini’s My Brother the Devil
A gripping original British drama revolving around two Egyptian brothers, who are caught between traditional values and a life of crime in surburban East London. This hard hitting Sundance favourite also boasts an unexpected twist. My Brother the Devil features a brilliant performance by Everywhere and Nowhere star James Floyd with a stunning debut by Fady Elsayed.
- Vasan Bala’s Peddlers
A multi-strand tale about a violent narcotics cop, the drug dealers he hunts, and their struggles for survival in the Mumbai night. Produced by the acclaimed Anurag Kashayp, the film welcomed much applause at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
- Mira Nair’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist
Director Mira Nair returns to the Festival with her intense adaption of Moshin Hamid’s bestseller starring Riz Ahmed and Kate Hudson. It tells of Changez, an ambitious young man whose identity pivots between a glittering stockbroker career in the Big Apple and his home culture thousands of miles away in Lahore, Pakistan. The film will have its Dare Gala Leicester Square premiere on Thursday 18th October.
- Prasanna Vithanage’s With You, Without You
A beautiful drama set in post-civil war Sri Lanka. The film tells the tale of lovers from opposite sides who are forced to confront a terrible past.
- Deepa Metha’s Midnight’s Children
An adaption of Salman Rushdie‘s novel, this engaging saga parallels the dramatic upheavals in a family’s history with the events that would define contemporary India. The films stars acclaimed Bollywood actresses Shabana Azmi, Shahana Goswami and Seema Biswas.
Tickets for the 56th BFI London Film Festival are available now at www.bfi.org.uk/lff